[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[June 18, 1992]
[Page 977]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 977]]

Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on Creation of the Monterey Bay 
National Marine Sanctuary

June 18, 1992
    As outlined in his FY 1993 budget, the President authorized the 
creation of the Nation's largest marine sanctuary off Monterey, CA, and 
approved a strict management regime including a permanent ban on oil and 
gas development for the area, which includes a wide variety of pristine 
habitats.
    The 5,312 square mile area proposed by the President was the largest 
option studied. With modifications only to exclude one minor area of 
lower resource value, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary would be 
the Nation's largest, bigger than the State of Connecticut and larger 
than any of the national parks in the lower 48 States, including 
Yosemite and Yellowstone. It contains the largest underwater canyon in 
North America and is home to an expanding population of sea otters and a 
wide variety of whales, porpoises, seals, fish, and sea birds, including 
many endangered and threatened species.
    The sanctuary will be overseen by the Commerce Department's National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Notice of 
Availability for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Final 
Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan will appear in the 
Federal Register Friday, June 19, 1992. There is a 30-day public comment 
period, which closes July 20, 1992. After review of public comments 
received on the impact statement, the notice of designation and the 
final regulations will be published in the Federal Register.
    The President requested $7.289 million for the national marine 
sanctuaries program in his fiscal year 1993 budget, an increase of 
nearly 50 percent from the FY 1992 appropriated level of $5 million for 
the 10 sanctuaries in existence; $510,600 was specifically identified in 
the budget increase for Monterey Bay Sanctuary's first year of 
operation.
    The sanctuary is also home to the Nation's most expansive kelp 
forests, which provide food and shelter for the thousands of marine 
species which dwell there. The bay is the closest-to-shore deep ocean 
environment anywhere in the continental United States, straddles two 
major ecological regions, subtropical and temperate, and provides a 
unique area for extensive ocean research and education.
    The Monterey Sanctuary will be the 11th in a network that spans from 
American Samoa to the Florida Keys and includes pristine coral reefs, 
the Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, the Channel Islands, and the Gulf 
of the Farallones, also off the coast of California. With the addition 
of Monterey Bay, President Bush will have designated three new 
sanctuaries, more than tripling the area protected under this program.